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ANALYSIS OF CARBONACEOUS AEROSOLS USING THE THERMAL OPTICAL TRANSMITTANCE AND THERMAL OPTICAL REFLECTANCE METHODS
Citation:
Norris, G A., M. E. Birch, M P. Tolocka, C W. Lewis, P A. Solomon, AND J. P. Homolya. ANALYSIS OF CARBONACEOUS AEROSOLS USING THE THERMAL OPTICAL TRANSMITTANCE AND THERMAL OPTICAL REFLECTANCE METHODS. Proceedings of the 92nd Annual Meeting of the AWMA, St. Louis, MO, June 20-24, 1999.
Description:
Carbonaceous particulate typically represents a large fraction of PM2.5 (20 - 40%). Two primary techniques presently used for the analysis of particulate carbon are Thermal Optical Transmission (TOT - NIOSH Method 5040) and Thermal Optical Reflectance (TOR). These two methods both quantify carbon by heating filters and volatilizing the carbon that is oxidized in a granular bed of Mn02, reduced to CH4 in a Ni methanator, and quantified as CR4 with a flame ionization detector. However, the methods use different techniques to correct for the formation of pyrolysis products and the temperature programs for defining organic and elemental carbon. The TOT and TOR measurement techniques are being compared using samples from the Chemical Speciation Monitor Evaluation Field Study. All of the samples will be measured with TOR and a subset of samples representing a range of mass concentrations will be measured with TOT. This comparison will provide insight into the effect of the measurement technique parameters on organic and elemental carbon concentrations.
This paper has been reviewed in accordance with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's peer and administrative review policies and approved for presentation and publication. Mention of trade name or commercial products does not constitute endorsement or recommendation for use.